The present invention relates to a regulator for diving and more particularly to such a regulator suitable to be used as a regulator usually referred to as a second stage.
A regulator for diving comprising a basic structure adapted to be kept in air-tight condition so long as a diver is using it, a built-in pressure-controllable air supply mechanism, a mouthpiece and a check valve mounted on the basic structure is referred to as a second stage and well known. The air supply mechanism is connected to a hose which is, in turn, connected via a first stage to an air tank. After pressure-controlled, air is supplied via the mouthpiece to the diver""s mouth. Some of the conventional regulators have been formed on the inner wall of their basic structure with a deflector so that flow of the supplied air may be obstructed with this deflector and its velocity as well as direction may be varied. The first purpose of such deflector has been to limit the velocity of the air to a level appropriate for the diver""s breathing. The second purpose is to avoid generation of so-called free flow of air within the basic structure due to a phenomenon such that the amount of air staying within the basic structure flows together with the supplied air toward the diver""s mouth and consequently a negative pressure is generated within the basic structure.
For such regulator of prior art, however, it has been required to provide within its basic structure, in addition to the pressure control means, a relatively large diaphragm and a lever member operatively associated with the pressure control means. As a result, size as well as position of the deflector to be attached on the inner wall of the basic structure has been strictly restrained by such complicated and bulky structure. In other words, it has been difficult for the deflector to act directly upon the supplied air so that the velocity of the supplied air may be efficiently limited to an appropriate level and the direction of the supplied air may be varied.
It is an object of the present invention to improve a regulator of the type described above and more specifically to set the deflector in such a manner that the deflector may act directly upon-the air supplied from the air supply mechanism.
According to the present invention, there is provided a regulator for diving comprising a basic structure adapted to be kept in substantially air-tight condition so long as a diver is actually using it, a pressure-controllable air supply mechanism housed in the basic structure to supply the diver with air, a mouthpiece connected to the basic structure and a check valve provided within the basic structure so as to be operated between opened and closed positions.
The air supply mechanism further has a tubular housing connected to an air supply source lying outside the basic structure, a pressure reducing valve provided within the housing and a deflector mounted on the housing and acting upon the air, and the housing is formed in its peripheral wall extending in front of the pressure reducing valve as viewed in a direction of the air flow with an air outlet port adapted to supply the mouthpiece with the air having its pressure reduced by the pressure reducing valve and the deflector covers the housing from the outside with a gap between the deflector and the peripheral wall, on one hand, and covers the air outlet port from immediately above as viewed in a radial direction of the housing.
The present invention includes preferred embodiments as follow:
The deflector has a tubular portion adapted to be telescopically mounted around the housing and an extension extending outwardly from the tubular portion in the radial direction, the tubular portion being formed in the vicinity of a proximal end of the extension with a through-hole communicating with the air outlet port and wherein any one of the tubular portion and the extension covers the air outlet port from immediately above as viewed in the radial direction of the housing and the extension covers the through-hole from immediately above.
The extension of the deflector has its distal end lying at a position offset from the middle as viewed in the radial direction of the tubular portion within the tubular portion connected between the basic structure and the mouthpiece.
The tubular portion of the deflector is in tightly contact with the housing at the longitudinally opposite ends of the tubular portion, and in an intermediate region defined between the opposite ends of the tubular portion is spaced from the housing over its entire circumferential surface, wherein a region of the housing extending immediately inside the intermediate region is formed with a second air outlet port spaced from the first air outlet port as viewed in the circumferential direction of the housing.
The second-air outlet port has an opening area larger than that of the first-mentioned air outlet port.